Car loader



N. E. SINNOTT CAR LOADER Oct. 18, 1949.

3 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 1, 1946 INVENTOR' ;/V/CH0LAS SIN/V077 Oct. 18, 1949. N. E. SINNOTT 2,485,462

CAR LOADER Filed March 1, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTQR lvlc/mus E. SIN/V077 2 I %Ej Oct. 18, 1949. N. E. SI NNOTT 2,485,462

CAR LOADER Filed March 1,1946 3 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR NICHOLAS SIN/V077 E Y Patented Oct. 18, 1949 CAR LOADER Nicholas E. Sinnott, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to National Biscuit Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application March 1, 1946, Serial No. 651,322

12 Claims. (01. 1982) My invention pertains to car loaders and has for its principal object to provide a car loader for bulk or loose materials that will fill the entire car to the roof, or to vany desired height, and will automatically and progressively withdraw from an end of the car that is being loaded toward the door as the car is filled or the desired height reached.

Heretofore railway box cars, covered bins and other storage places could not be filled to uniform depth or to the top throughout by conveyors operating through a side door or opening. The ends and corners could be filled to the top only by manual labor or independent pushers. According to the present invention, the ends and far corners of box cars and bins may be filled to any desired height through a side door or opening.

An important object of the invention is to provide means whereby a box car, or bin, may be filled throughout to the top or to any desired height by a conveyor operating through the door or side opening without hand shovelling.

Another object is to provide a car loader that is pivotally supported adjacent the door and may extend diagonally through the door to fill one end of the car and then be swung on its pivot to fill the opposite end.

Another object is to provide an overhead car loader that is adjustable both vertically and horizontally and also is extensible so that it can be adjusted and operated to fill a car of any size to the top or to any desired height.

Another object is to provide power operated means for loading box cars with loose materials, thereby doing away with manual labor.

Another object is to provide a power driven car loader that is supported overhead and is adjustable and movable so that its delivery end may enter into the car through a side door at any angle and to any length.

Still another object is to provide a car loader having a screw conveyor for loading bulk materials which may be extended into the car at any angle and to any extent and will automatically withdraw as the car is filled.

The above and other objects and advantages are attained by my invention, a preferred embodiment of which I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the loader in position to fill the far corner or end of a car.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the screw conveyor withdrawn from the car and the loader moved to idle position,

Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the loader in operation within a car.

Fig. 4 is a plan View, on a reduced scale, showing the overhead support for the loader.

Fig. 5 is a side view, partly in section, looking in the direction of the arrow 5 on Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is an end elevation looking in the direction of the arrows 66 on Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of Fig. 7.

The form of my invention illustrated is designed particularly for loading bran, grain and other flowable dry materials, but is not limited thereto.

Reference is first made to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, for a general description of the invention. The conveyor carriage III is pivotally and adjustably supported at its inner end on an adjustable arm I l and at its outer end is slidably supported in a trolley l2 that runs on a semicircular track [3. The inner end of the carriage carries a trough l4 which has two top side connections I5, [6 for the lower end of a flexible pipe I! through which material is supplied that is to be loaded into the car. A screw conveyor 18 driven by an electric motor [9 extends through the trough l4 and the screw and motor are slidable as a unit in the carriage l0 so that the delivery end of the conveyor may be extended into the far end of a car that is being loaded, as shown in Fig. 3.

The curved rail 13 is nearly a complete semicircle and is supported on an overhead frame preferably made from structural shapes 20, 2|, 22, 23 and 24. The frame member 24 coincides with a radius of the track l3 and carries the supporting arm I I.

When it is desired to load a car, the car 25 will be placed so that its door 26 will be adjacent and opposite the supporting arm I I. At that time the conveyor will be in idle position, as shown in Fig. 2. First the outer end of the carriage and trolley I2 will be run around on the track I3 until they approach the frame member 24, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4. Then the screw conveyor and its driving motor l9 are run forward until the end of the conveyor has entered through the car door 26 and the supporting arm I l is run out beyond the frame member 24 so that the delivery end of the trough is within the car. Next the conveyor [8 and motor I9 are run forward until the conveyor reaches the end of the car, or far enough so that it will feed or push the material to the car end. The supply pipe I! is then connected to the one of the openings l5, I6

that is on the outside of the car. The position of these openings depends upon whether the conveyor is to fill the right or left hand end of the car first. The motor I9 is then started and, as the material to be loaded comes down through the pipe ll into the trough, it will be carried out by the screw conveyor and dropped to the bottom of the car until the car is filled to the height of the conveyor. Thereafter the conveyor will continue to push the material toward the end of the car until the end becomes fully loaded. Then, the conveyor is withdrawn and turned to the opposite end of the car until the second end is filled. When both ends are filled, the entire device will be withdrawn as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4, swung to inactive position, as shown in Fig. 2, and another car brought in for loading. As the car is filled at the far end, the screw conveyor automatically withdraws toward the door, as will be more fully described later.

As shown in Figs. 5, 6 and '7, the conveyor [8 and motor [9 are carried by a beam 2! which is slidable on rollers in the carriage it]. On its upper face the beam 21 carries a rack 28 which meshes with a pinion 29 secured to a shaft 30 that is rotatably mounted in the carriage l0, and at its outer end carries a sprocket 3| over which an endless chain 32 runs. The chain 32 extends down so that it is convenient to the operator and rotation of the sprocket 3| and pinion 29 moves the rack back and forth in the housing and car ries the conveyor and motor with it. As shown in the drawing the motor l9 drives a pulley 33, which is connected to a shaft 34 and through bevel gears drives the shaft 35 of the conveyor I 8. The shaft 35 is journaled in the bearings 35 secured to the beam 21.

The shaft 30 carries a brake drum 36 around which passes a brake band 31, the opposite ends of which are connected to a lever 38 which is fulcrumed on a bracket 39 secured to the carriage IB and at its free end carries a slidin weight 40 by which the tension on the brake band 31 may be adjusted. The band 31 is arranged so that rotation of the drum 36 will tend to loosen it when the conveyor is being run into the car. But reverse rotation of the drum will tend to tighten the band and resist the conveyors being withdrawn from the car. By means of the weight 40 the braking effect on the drum can be adjusted. After the conveyor is run fully into the car, the weight will be adjusted on the arm 38 until the friction of the band 31 on the drum 36 is sufllcient to hold the conveyor in the car until the pressure of the conveyor against the material that has been packed in the end of the car is sufficient to force the conveyor backward. Thus, as the car fills up in the end, as shown in Fig. 3, an ever increasing back pressure will be exerted against the screw conveyor until it finally overcomes the friction of the band on the brake drum, and the conveyor moves out of the car slowly as it fills up to mid position. When the operator wishes to withdraw the conveyor, he slides the weight 40 over so as to release the tension on the band 31, after which the conveyor can be withdrawn easily by operation of the chain The inner end of the carriage I is adjustably supported on the inner end of the supporting arm H. The screw 4| passes through a nut in the inner end of the arm I l and has a pivotal connection 42 with the inner end of the carriage. By means of a crank 43, the screw 41 can be rotated to raise or lower the end of the carriage, so that it may enter a car door or opening of any height or adjust the delivery end so as to load the car to the depth required.

The arm H is supported on rollers 44 in a bracket 45 secured to the inner end of the frame member 24 where it joins the two frame members it, 2 i. At its outer end, the arm I! has a yoke M- provided with rollers that run on the lower flange of the member 24. A nut 41 on the inner end of the arm H is engaged by a screw 48, which. rotates in a bearing 49 on the outer end of the member 24. A gear 50 secured to the shaft of? this screw meshes with a pinion 5! that can be rotated through a sprocket 52 and chain 53 to move the arm l l in and out along the beam'24.

As best shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the trolley [2 has rollers 54, 55, that run on the track I3 and has lower rollers 56, 51, on which the outer end of the carriage moves in and out through the trolley when the carriage is bein shifted. This slidable connection of the carriage to the trolley is necessary because the pivotal support of the inner end of the carriage seldom, if ever will be concentric with the track l3.

When loading a car with the present invention, the door opening in the side of the car opposite the loader will be boarded up to the top of the car. The opening through which the loader operates will be boarded up until just enough room is left to insert and withdraw the loader. The inner end of the carriage will then be moved into the car opening so that the delivery end of the loader is within the car. The chain 32 then will be operated to run the conveyor fully into the car, and the supply pipe ll will be connected to the connection l5 or IE that is on the outside of the car. The motor I9 is then started and the material fed into the car until it is filled to the top when pressure on the conveyor l8 will cause it to withdraw against the adjusted friction of the band 31 on the drum 36. When the car is filled to the center, the carriage will be swung around and the conveyor l8 run into the opposite end of the car. Before swinging the carriage around, the flexible pipe I1 is disconnected from the trough connection l5 or l6. When the conveyor has been run to the opposite end of the car, the pipe will be connected to the other of the openings 15, I6 which is now on the outside. As the second end becomes filled, the conveyor again withdraws until it reaches the door at which time the car will be fully loaded without shovelling of the material or manual labor of any kind.

The form of my invention that I have shown in the drawings has been designed particularly for loading bran and whole grains into box cars, but it can be used for loading other dry materials which flow readily.

Havin thus described one form that my invention may take, I claim all equivalents and modifications thereof that may come within the scope of any of my claims.

My claims are:

1. In a car loader, the combination of a supporting frame, a conveyor carriage pivotally supported at one end on said frame, means on said frame for supporting the other end of said carriage so that it may swing laterally about said pivotal support, a conveyor unit slidably supported in said carriage, said unit comprising a screw conveyor and means for driving the same,

. a trough on said carriage adjacent its pivoted end through which said screw conveyor is projected, and means for sliding the conveyor unit on said carriage relatively to the trough to effect the projection of the screw conveyor.

2. In a car loader, the combination of a sup-' porting frame, a conveyor carriage pivotally supported at one end on said frame, means on said frame forsupporting the. other end of said carriage so that it may swing laterally about said pivotal support, a conveyor unit slidably supported in said carriage, said unit comprising a screw conveyor and means for driving the same, atrough on'said carriage adjacent its pivoted end through which said screw conveyor is projected, means for sliding the conveyor unit on said carriage relatively to the trough to effect the projection of the screw conveyor, and means for adjusting the pivotally supported end of said carriage both horizontally and vertically.

3. In a car loader, the combination of a supporting frame, a horizontal curved track thereon, a part of said frame forming a radius of said track, a supporting arm adjustably mounted on said radial frame part with one end extendable beyond a line joining the ends of said curved track, a carriage having one end pivotally supported on the extendible end of said supporting arm, the opposite end of said carriage being movably supported on said curved track, means for vertically adjusting the pivotal connection of the carriage to the supporting arm, means for adjusting the supporting arm on said frame part to move the end of the carriage and its pivotal connection toward and from the line joining the ends of said track, a trough connected to the pivotally supported end of said carriage and having a delivery end, a conveyor unit mounted to slide in said carriage, said unit comprising a screw conveyor and a motor for driving it, said conveyor extending through said trough, means on said carriage for sliding said unit on the carriage and to extend the conveyor beyond the delivery end of the trough and return it, and means for supplying bulk material to said trough.

4. In a car loader, the combination of a supporting frame, a horizontal curved track thereon,

arm, the opposite end of said carriage being movably supported on said curved track, means for vertically adjusting the pivotal connection of the carriage to the supporting arm, means for adjusting the supporting arm on said frame part to move the end of the carriage and its pivotal connection toward and from the line joining the ends of said track, a trough connected to the pivotally supported end of said carriage and having a delivery end, a conveyor unit mounted to slide in said carriage, said unit comprising a screw conveyor and a motor for driving it, said conveyor extending through said trough, means on said carriage for sliding said unit on the carriage and to extend the conveyor beyond the delivery end of the trough and return it, means for supplying bulk material to said trough, and a brake for regulating the return movement of said conveyor.

5. In a car loader, the combination of a carriage having inner and outer ends, a trough secured to the inner end of said carriage, a conveyor unit slidably supported on said carriage and having a screw conveyor arranged to be projected through said trough, said unit including a motor to drive the conveyor and movable therewith, means for pivotally supporting the inner end of said carriage adjacent a car door when the car is in position to be loaded, means for swinging said carriage and unit about said pivotal support, means for sliding said pivotal support toward and from the car door, and means for moving the conveyor unit on said carriage, whereby the trough and screw conveyor may be extended into and withdrawn from the car.

6. In a car loader, the combination of a carriage, a trough secured to the forward end of the carriage, means for supplying bull: material to the trough, a screw conveyor slidable on the carriage to move its delivery end through and beyond the end of said trough, a motor for driving said conveyor, a rack connected to said conveyor to slide it on the carriage and through the trough, and a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the carriage and having a gear meshing with said rack, whereby rotation of said hand wheel will move the conveyor with respect to the carriage.

'7. In a car loader, the combination of a carriage, a trough securedto the forward end of the carriage, means for supplying bulk material to the trough, a screw conveyor slidable on the carriage to move its delivery end through and beyond the end of said trough, a motor for driving said conveyor, a rack connected tosaid conveyor to slide it on the carriage and through the trough, a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the carriage and having a gear meshing with said rack, whereby rotation of said handwheel will move the conveyor with respect to the carriage, and a brake responsive to pressure on the conveyor during its operation for regulating and controlling movement of said conveyor in one direction.

8. In a car loader, the combination of a carriage, a trough secured to the forward end of the carriage, means for supplying bulk material to the trough, a screw conveyor slidable on the carriage with its delivery end extending through said trough, a motor for driving said conveyor, a rack connected to said conveyor to slide it on the carriage and through the trough, a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the carriage and having a gear meshing with said rack, whereby rotation of said hand wheel will move the conveyor with respect to the carriage, means for pivotally supporting the forward end of the carriage, and a curved track for supporting the outer end of said carriage, whereby the carriage and conveyor may be swung about said pivotal support.

9. In a car loader, the combination of a carriage, a trough secured to the forward end of the carriage, means for supplying bulk material to the trough, a screw conveyor slidable on the carriage with its delivery end extending through said trough, a motor for driving said conveyor, a rack connected to said conveyor to slide it on the carriage and through the trough, a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the carriage and having a gear meshing with said rack, whereby rotation of said hand wheel will move the conveyor with respect to the carriage, means for pivotally supporting the forward end of the carriage, a curved track for supporting the outer end of said carriage, whereby the carriage and conveyor may be swung about said pivotal support, and means for adjusting said pivotal support both vertically and horizontally.

10. In a car loader, the combination of a trough may extend beyond the delivery end, means for rotating the conveyor so that it will convey material supplied to the trough from its delivery end, and adjustable means resisting pressure of accumulated material delivered from the trough against the extended end of the conveyor tending to cause retrograde movement thereof.

11. In a car loader, the combination of a trough having a connection for receiving bulk material and an open delivery end, a screw conveyor'extending through the trough and slidable therein, the conveyor being longer than the trough, means for moving the conveyor in the trough so that it may extend beyond the delivery end, means for rotating the conveyor so that it will convey material supplied to th trough from its delivery end, adjustable means resisting pressure of accumulated material delivered from the trough against the extended end of the conveyor tending to cause retrograde movement thereof, a support for the trough and conveyor, and means for adjusting the trough and conveyor both horizontally and vertically with respect to the support.

12. In a car loader, the combination of a carriage, a trough secured to the forward end of the carriage, means for supplying bulk material to the trough, a. screw conveyor slidable on the carriage to move its delivery end through and beyond the end of said trough, a motor for driving said conveyor, a rack connected to said conveyor to slide it on the carriage and through the trough, a hand wheel rotatably mounted on the carriage and having a gear meshing with said rack, whereby rotation of said hand wheel will move the conveyor with respect to the carriage, and means operative in response to pressure on the conveyor during its operation to efiect its retraction progressively to the end of the trough.

NICHOLAS E. SINNOTT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 845,719 Sohniewind Feb. 26, 1907 1,186,882 Christy June 13, 1916 1,720,956 Heineke July 16, 1929 1,735,920 Fitzhugh Nov. 19, 1929 1,757,401 Thomas May 6, 1930 1,912,130 Eppensteiner May 30, 1933 1,923,836 Manierre Aug. 22, 1933 

